Renewal with churchill

Quote

What makes you think I've read it in the first place? It's known that most composite insurers don't make much money from vehicle insurance. It's like suggesting that Manchester United make most of their money from gate receipts. /spurious.

You've obviously got a bee in your bonnet about insurance, and that's fair enough. A lot of people do. I think they're mostly people who don't understand insurance properly, but that's probably not for here.

This pretty much sums up what I believe...

Some people are becoming cheap.

The industry I work in is rife with these people.

I can almost understand why people want to save money. I'm familiar with the sentiment that if you look after the pennies the pounds will look after themselves. That it all adds up. Believe me. I know. But at the same time I'm consumed by the overwhelming notion that the only thing you can actually do with money is spend it. This and the fact, The Fact, that we'll all be in the same place one hundred years from now.

Why on earth at the moment does there seem to be this futile desire for people to want to sacrifice peace of mind or pleasure or need or their future, all in the pursuit of cheapness? It's because television advertisement breaks are saturated with evidence of this cheapness. And these adverts propagate the idea that the cheapest version of an homogenous product must automatically be the best.

I'm sure that part of the reason I think like this is because I sell something that people have to buy. They have a legal obligation to buy it, and it's something they never want to have to use. Like buying a coffin. Also the perception of the consumer is that despite there being literally hundreds of companies offering a similar type of product, the misconception is that the products are identical. There is, no doubt, an element of truth in this, but only in the same way that a television set lets you watch the same channels. In all other ways there could be a wealth of differences. I could understand it if the thing I was selling was wholely useless, but it isn't. And yet people continue to want to s(h)ave inconsequential sums of money at the expense of quality.

£365 is one pound a day. £50 is less than one pound a week. Some people spend that much on satellite or cable TV every month. Since when did securing your livelihood have to be forfeited at the expense of what's on television?

Please don't answer that.

People like to think that they have found a bargain. They're proud of the fact that they can save money, even better if they can save more money than you. But people lie as well. All the time. They lie about how much they earn, how much their children sleep at night, and how much they pay for their car insurance.

The internet is also blameworthy.

I use the internet. True. But I'd never use the internet to buy insurance. It's far too complicated and there's no-one to blame if you click the wrong link, or leave the right box unticked, it takes too long to sort out and that's time you'll never get back. Ever.

And that's me. That's me with years of insurance and internet experience. I'll use the internet to buy a CD. I know the name of the artist, I know the name of the album, I know it has ten tracks on it, it's a no-brainer. But that's only on the occasion that I'm prepared to wait. If I want to find out how long I need to roast a joint of beef so it's well done there's any number of places on the internet I can garner that information. But I have to know where to draw the line. And that line is common sense. It's knowing my limits. This is why, with the aid of the internet, I might be able to self-diagnose coeliac disease, but I'm not about to conduct my own biopsy, no matter how good the diagrams are.

Whatever you want or need, you pay what you're happy to pay and what you can afford to pay for the best you can afford. I mean whatever it is, that's all you need to consider, isn't it?

mikey72

Quote wrote: »

What makes you think I've read it in the first place? It's known that most composite insurers don't make much money from vehicle insurance. It's like suggesting that Manchester United make most of their money from gate receipts. /spurious.

You've obviously got a bee in your bonnet about insurance, and that's fair enough. A lot of people do. I think they're mostly people who don't understand insurance properly, but that's probably not for here.

This pretty much sums up what I believe...

Some people are becoming cheap.

The industry I work in is rife with these people.

I can almost understand why people want to save money. I'm familiar with the sentiment that if you look after the pennies the pounds will look after themselves. That it all adds up. Believe me. I know. But at the same time I'm consumed by the overwhelming notion that the only thing you can actually do with money is spend it. This and the fact, The Fact, that we'll all be in the same place one hundred years from now.

Why on earth at the moment does there seem to be this futile desire for people to want to sacrifice peace of mind or pleasure or need or their future, all in the pursuit of cheapness? It's because television advertisement breaks are saturated with evidence of this cheapness. And these adverts propagate the idea that the cheapest version of an homogenous product must automatically be the best.

I'm sure that part of the reason I think like this is because I sell something that people have to buy. They have a legal obligation to buy it, and it's something they never want to have to use. Like buying a coffin. Also the perception of the consumer is that despite there being literally hundreds of companies offering a similar type of product, the misconception is that the products are identical. There is, no doubt, an element of truth in this, but only in the same way that a television set lets you watch the same channels. In all other ways there could be a wealth of differences. I could understand it if the thing I was selling was wholely useless, but it isn't. And yet people continue to want to s(h)ave inconsequential sums of money at the expense of quality.

£365 is one pound a day. £50 is less than one pound a week. Some people spend that much on satellite or cable TV every month. Since when did securing your livelihood have to be forfeited at the expense of what's on television?

Please don't answer that.

People like to think that they have found a bargain. They're proud of the fact that they can save money, even better if they can save more money than you. But people lie as well. All the time. They lie about how much they earn, how much their children sleep at night, and how much they pay for their car insurance.

The internet is also blameworthy.

I use the internet. True. But I'd never use the internet to buy insurance. It's far too complicated and there's no-one to blame if you click the wrong link, or leave the right box unticked, it takes too long to sort out and that's time you'll never get back. Ever.

And that's me. That's me with years of insurance and internet experience. I'll use the internet to buy a CD. I know the name of the artist, I know the name of the album, I know it has ten tracks on it, it's a no-brainer. But that's only on the occasion that I'm prepared to wait. If I want to find out how long I need to roast a joint of beef so it's well done there's any number of places on the internet I can garner that information. But I have to know where to draw the line. And that line is common sense. It's knowing my limits. This is why, with the aid of the internet, I might be able to self-diagnose coeliac disease, but I'm not about to conduct my own biopsy, no matter how good the diagrams are.

Whatever you want or need, you pay what you're happy to pay and what you can afford to pay for the best you can afford. I mean whatever it is, that's all you need to consider, isn't it?

No.



.

Quote

What else do you consider?

dunstonh

Yes, done this to death already. Record profits disagree with you.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=2706419

Facts disagree with you.

"I am an Independent Financial Adviser. "

probably not one I'd use.

I get to pick and choose my clients. So, no worry of you using me.

mikey72

Quote wrote: »

What else do you consider?

"It's known that most composite insurers don't make much money from vehicle insurance."
The only problem with that is it's only brokers that appear to "know" it, and keep saying it. No one else does now.
Insurance companies are posting profits, and financial reports show a return to profits as well.
To answer your question though, the companies I won't use are ones that offer to beat my existing quote, or if my existing company suddenly offers to match the quote that I just got online from them, (usually a lot cheaper than the renewal).
If they can afford to insure me for a low price, I want it first, not after they have been caught out trying to overcharge me for a product they will sell cheaper if they need to. The other company who have offered the cheaper price will get my business because they deserve it for offering the right price in the first place. This thread is a good case in point.

I don't buy the cheapest, I buy one that gives me what I want.
The cheapest is usually around £20 to £30 less than I end up paying, but I can usually pay less than last year, even if only by a few pounds, some times more though.
I don't have protected no claims, I don't have legal assistance, I don't want a courtesy car, I want a main dealer repair, I want eu use, (third party is fine) I want a telephone number, I want an online quote first for comparison, then I ring the call centre to see how fast they answer, and how they sound.
I want a cheaper price than last year. I want a brand name I recognize, and one that doesn't have outstandingly bad reviews. I won't use anyone that offers a stupidly high price than drops it. (They can stick to selling double glazing with that sales method)
If they use a cashback site that's an advantage.
As to using brokers, I will for complicated insurance, but saying as car insurance at a broker used to be them asking the same questions as you now get online, and the broker ticking the boxes and giving you a cover note, I fail to now see the difference. Apart from me keeping the odd hundred or so pounds for my holiday fund, rather than it going into theirs.

mikey72

dunstonh wrote: »

I get to pick and choose my clients. So, no worry of you using me.

I'm impressed. I wouldn't use you because of the misinformation you keep giving, and if you do this reguarly in your business it wouldn't take long to spot.

You wouldn't have someone who disagreed with you on the internet because of what? You would use the force to know who they were maybe?

dunstonh wrote: »

Facts disagree with you.

Still waiting for any reference, apart from your "inside information" for any of your facts.

I'm still waiting for the references from your statement that 90% of insurers are now closed as well.